Over 18 Uni maintanence

I have an 18 year old in her first year at uni studying medicine. I am ill and work part time (approx £10000 pa) so she has a full student grant. My ex is not paying anything towards her time at uni (26 weeks per annum) nor the time she spends at home (26 weeks). He is adamant that she should manage the costs of university herself.

The first three years at uni will be difficult for my daughter, but the final three clinical years will be impossible. Each clinical year is 44 weeks long ( 2 weeks at Xmas, 2 at Easter and 4 weeks in the summer) so there will be no time to work. She will receive approx £7000 a year from grants and loans during these clinical years- not enough to support herself. I am heading for court as other matters aren''t straight forward either. Will the court have any consideration for the cost of my daughters education and need for a base whilst not at uni?

This is for the CSA it''s nothing to do with court unless your ex consents to it which from the sounds of it he wouldn''t.

The CSA rules are that he has to support her by paying you up until the age of 21 if she''s in full time education. So for one child that would be I think around 15% of his income.

There is a CSA calculator online but be aware that the rules change again a short while ago but basically what I''ve said are the current rules.

There is no substitute for legal advice. If you haven''t the funds to pay a solicitor it is worth making a preliminary appointment because you may be able to claim something from your husband if he has resources available to pay for legal services. child maintenance and accommodation for over 18s at university most certainly can be kept on the agenda and negotiated as part of the overall divorce settlement.

Children under 18 are the priority when sharing assets but over 18s in education aren''t irrelevant. It isn''t unreasonable for university students to be provided with a base even though they may be away during term time.

In this particular case the CSA/CMS cannot be involved. The Child Maintenance Service can only process a claim for child maintenance if a child is under 20 and in full time non advanced education. "Non advanced" education means A Level standard or less. However a child over 18 in higher education (university) can claim child maintenance from parents in their own right through the courts, or provision can be made for them in a court order settling the finances on divorce.

Can she not apply for student loan?


Sounds like the finances between the parents are not sorted out. When it comes to negotiation, you have to find a balance amongst all parties, especially for your daughter.
If you try to have all the financial security and leaving the father to take all the risks, it won''t work very well.

As the others say CSA or CMS is not applicable as that''s only for full time students and a university is not classed as full-time.
Make sure she''s applied for all grants, loans and bursaries from the Uni.
Also if you''re on your own you are entitled to a 25% discount on your council tax and maybe even housing benefit etc...
If your stbx is a high wage earner she could apply for maintenance from him direct under her own name - maybe she wouldn''t want to do this but I''m pretty certain legally she can.
I am in a similar position with a child at university and he has to manage on just the loans, grants and bursaries it is difficult for them as I can''t afford to help him out and his father won''t so they do struggle but unfortunately that''s how it is and many are Struggling the same at the moment.